Of course, in any game where you start Scott Palguta, you run the risk of embarrassment, and that’s just what the Rapids got. Of course, the center back depth is a topic for another day, but Palguta’s center back play was pretty crucial in this, one and these player ratings show it:

Matt Pickens – 8
The reason why we felt this game was winnable right up until Vancouver’s goal was the play of Matt Pickens. He was absolutely wonderful between the sticks and even kept the dream alive at the end when he stopped a Sebastien Le Toux breakaway to keep it from being 2-0. Pickens is making a strong case to be an All-Star or at least the Rapids MVP of 2012.

Rapids' head coach Oscar Pareja has some more decisions to make with his backline.

Kosuke Kimura – 4
Not the best effort from Kimura. His speed was outclassed by Darren Mattocks and he had to play harder than usual to make up for it. Fortunately, nothing he did turned out to be devastating in the end and he wasn’t terrible on the offensive end.

Scott Palguta – 2
I would love to see Oscar Pareja rationalize starting Scott Palguta again. Not only did he leave Sebastien Le Toux as unmarked as a man could be on the goal, but he was getting shredded all game long, his inability to clear almost led to another goal and his passing was lackluster. This was not a howler from Scott Palguta though, it’s what we’ve come to expect.

Drew Moor – 6
Did as best he could against the speedy front that the Whitecaps had put out there. Got beat a few times but played well enough to keep anything dangerous out. He clearly misses having Marvell Wynne by his side.

Hunter Freeman – 5.5
Freeman did his job all day, no complaints about his performance. Could have done better with some of his crosses and throw-ins, but he couldn’t do anything about some of the finishing.

Jaime Castrillon – 4.5
Castrillon just has a tendency to become invisible on the pitch, and he spent all night in that terrible limbo. His passing was decent when he actually had it, but in the final third he never had a word to say.
Brian Mullan – 6
It continues to be a solid if unspectacular year for Brian. He played well all night, but never was able to pull the trigger on anything great. No real complaints though, he’s not supposed to be the one banging the goals in.

Jeff Larentowicz – 7
The Ginger Ninja roamed the field wonderfully against Vancouver, ending up at both endlines at times. Had a couple of chances he should have done better on, but his defensive work was solid and his passing continues to be great as we’ve come to expect.
Martin Rivero – 7
One of the best performances by Rivero since he joined the Rapids, he was immensely unlucky to not have gotten a point out of the game. He was unafraid to shoot and struck the crossbar on his best chance of the night. His set pieces weren’t as bad as the record on them would seem to indicate, most of them just ended in Rapids players getting out-muscled. Speaking of which…

Edu – 5.5
Not an awful performance from the Brazilian, and certainly his best in a Rapids uniform so far. Unfortunately, he’s not all that fast or big, and you sort of need one of those qualities if you’re going to play striker in this league. Until some of that immaculate Brazilian passing or finishing comes into play, he probably won’t score many.

Tony Cascio – 4.5
There wasn’t much to say about Cascio, as he rarely saw the ball much throughout the game and was often beat to it when it was near him. He didn’t register a single major stat other than committing and suffering a foul each.

Conor Casey – 5.5
Came in late as a substitute, and did make a difference as he opened up a lot of space in the box for other guys to do some work. Also had a great chance where he went over two defenders to get a header on that Joe Cannon stopped. Still, he didn’t score and the Rapids really need him to start.

Kamani Hill – INC
Didn’t do much of anything in his 14 minutes other than start a few attempts up the side, most of which ended up turning into nothing in particular.

Daniel was first introduced to soccer at age 6 while living in Düsseldorf, West Germany. He played youth soccer in West Germany until age 9, and then in Seattle, where he is originally from. He works as the day breaking news editor and also contributes on the Rapids beat.